The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1887-10-26
THE Statue TO GEN. MEAD
Brave Soldier Commemorated II
Bronze.

men of the State and nation, the brofizf
equestrian statue Of General George Gordon
Meade, erected IN Fairmont Park, was un-
yeiled this afternoon with appropriate porup
and ceremony As tomorrow is the begin
ming of the convention Of the Loyal Legion
in this city. leading military men who had
arrived from all parts Of the country availed
themselves OF the opportunity of paying
homage TO the memory of the dead hero.
A grand military parade, which proved one
of the mo~i imposing demonstrations OF the
kind ever given in The eiiy. formed a, Broad
and Spring Garden streets. and marched 10
the monument in the park. where the nm
veiling ceremonies took place.
The procession was started at i.S0 T. NJ.
and was under the command of Colonel
james c. Biddle. who was a member of
General Meade's military family during the
war In addition 10 the First Brigade Ma
tional Guards of Pennsylvania, there were
in the line Grand Army posts from the de
partments of Penn sylvania, New York.
New Jersey Deleware and Maryland,
the Pennsylvania Commandry of the LOYAL
Legion, the Pennsylvania Reserve Associa-
ton, the Union Veterans League. Sons of
Veterans. soldiers orphans and the One
Hundred and Fourteenth Pennsylvania
Volunteer Association, which regiment Gen
eral Meade commanded in the early part of
the war.
All along The line of march the militia
and th e veterans were greeted with cheers,
and when the head of the column reached
the site of the memorial in the park. the
crowd on the grounds numbered close on to
10000. 4 stand for the accommodation of
the speakers had been erected close TO the
memorial, and within the enclosure were
assembled the members of General Meafie's
immediate family and many distinguished
military and civil guests.
THE MEMORIAL
The memorial, which take, the shape of
bronze tquest rian statue. j. the work ot lle
sculptor A. VI calder II j. Of heroic size
and is mounted on a PEDESTAL oI rough gram
iic about 20 feet in height The statue repre-
~euis General Meade refining IN his horse
sharply on the slope Of IA hill, while. hat in
band. lac is returning salute The design
j, q, spirited one and the likeness > >;rk-
ins
The ceremonies al the statuc We're apeaed
wiA prayer by Bishop Whitehead. of PITTS
burg. This was followed by brief address
by Mayor Filter. the presentation 10 the
park commissioners on behalf OF the Fair
mont Park Association bs Hon Beljnmin
II Brewster, ex-attorney general Of the
United states, aud the unveiling Oi Ihe
statue by Masters George Gordon Meade
George Gordon Mssde Large, grandsons of
the General.
GENERAL GIBBONS GRAFTON.
Mayor Filler then introduced Major Gen
eral John Gibbon, T. 5. A, who delivered
the Grafton. After adverting TO the fact that
though an officer in the regular army, Meade,
up 10 the beginning of the war, had never
commanded even a company of soldiers,
General Gibbon said. in speaking OF the
second battle of Bull Run The problem
was how and in what time 10 get the Army
Of Virginia together in front of Washington
before Lee could bring superior forces to
bear upon the later army. | touch upon
this matter merely that may refer to a con
yersition held with Meade at the time our
army was concentrated about Warrenton.
lie had recently returned to his command
and informed me thai he had just held a
conversation with the army commander
General Pope. during which Meade asked
him the question What are you doing
ont here? You should be falling back to-
wards Washington 1t is a well-known
fact that the authoritiesin Washington sent
Pore orders to hold his ground IN advanced
positions at the front Mark the fact that
an obscure brigade commander of the Po-
tomac, had well defined, sound ideas upon
that all important and much und,rrated sub
je,.t in military nperations-strategy.
The speaker then told how surprised Gem
eral Meade was when awakened at midnight
and informed that he had been given the
command of the Army of the Potomac. He
thought at first that lac had been placed un-
der arrest The foundation for this concur
sion dated back to the battle of ChanceliOrs-
Vile barely two months before. After the
retreat Hooker insisted that Meade had
counseled il and that he had 50 reported TO
Washington When, Therefore, a messenger
from the war department reused him, he
naturally suspected arrest In speaking
of the telegram from General Haleck TO
Meade after the battle of Gettysburg express
ing disappointment that Lee had not been
captured and his army destroyer, General
Ciib-bon said
GENERAL AEsDE's DECLARATION
" II is worth no mans while 10 attempt
TO defend General Meade from a charge
which came very near being made the pre-
text for depriving him of the command of
the army Those who knew the character
of the man will not hesitate To accept as con
elusive his adjuration before the committee
on the conduct Of the war, and repeated in
other places with the same earnestness: !
deny (he says) under the full sanctity Of my
oath. and in the firm conviction that the
day will come when the secrets of all men
shall be known utterly deny ever having
intended or thought for one instant. to with
draw that army, unless the military CON
tingencies which the future should develop
during the course ofthe day might render
il a matter of necessity that the army should
he Withdrawn
General Gibbon emphaticsilly denied that
General Meade had any intention of retreat
ing from the field Of Gettysburg on the
morning of July ?. or at any time during
the hattie. He said also: =" As one of the
numerous controversies which have arisSn
since the battle of Gettysburg is ia regard to
the powers bestowed upon General Hancock
on that OCCASION, single quotation from
Mcade's letter of instruction. dated i:lo Z.
d.. July /. ought to be sufficient to settle
the question. IL says That you proceed
10 the front, aud by virtue of this order in
case of the truth Of General Reynolds death
yuu assume command of the corps there as
sembled. viz: The Eleventh. First and
Third. at Emmi;isburg. Hancock, ofcourse
obeyed his order
Gibson concluded his Grafton with an
eloqucnt tribute TO General Meade's bravery
and distinguished services as soldier, his
high-toned. honorable character as a man
and his virtue and integrity a. citizen of
the republic
President Cleveland's Return.
IL tl,r ~